CME: Trading volume exploded following Trump's election

A trader pauses amidst the activity in the S&P 500 pit at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, October 26, 1998 REUTERS/Sue Ogrocki

(Reuters) - CME Group Inc, the world's largest futures market operator, reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit, helped by a surge in trading volumes following the surprise election of U.S. President Donald Trump.

The average daily trading volume at CME, which owns the Chicago Board of Trade and other futures exchanges, rose 24 percent to 16.3 million contracts in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31.

Five of the top ten daily volume days occurred within 2016, with three of those in the fourth quarter, the company said in a statement.

Derek Sammann, CME's head of commodities and options, had said that infrastructure investments promised by Trump would require the use of copper and other materials, likely boosting price volatility for those goods.

The company's net income rose to $373.4 million, or $1.10 cents per share, in the quarter from $291.7 million, or 86 cents per share, a year earlier.

Analysts on average had estimated earnings of $1.11 per share, excluding items, and revenue of $903.7 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. (Reporting by Diptendu Lahiri in Bengaluru and Tom Polansek in Chicago; Editing by Anil D'Silva)